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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · drill · hand · kid · toast · cell · bark · stick

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — to tease
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bark — to shout
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — in cards
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. toast — bread
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kick — in football
  21. drill — army training
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. drill — a practice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com